Larissa He is from Belém, but the rivers are his home. A canoeing athlete, she is an institutional communications advisor for Mandi, a women-led NGO that works in Amazon Pará, inviting people to imagine other futures for cities, starting from Amazonian waters.
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O Curto News spoke with Larissa to listen – from someone who lives and breathes our Amazon – what she thinks of the current situation in the region, what the last few years have been like and what can be expected in the future.
Starting from the recent past to the present moment, Larissa assesses that the Bolsonaro government has aggravated – and greatly – the process of destruction of Floresta amazônica.
As examples of actions by the current government that caused a record increase in deforestation, burning and invasion of indigenous lands in the Amazon region, Larissa cites the transfer of functions from the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) to the Ministry of Agriculture, the cut in government funds for the protection of the environment, the weakening of research and the dismantling of systems for monitoring and combating environmental crimes.
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“We realized, here in the Amazon, that illegal mining took over, which caused the lack of protection of the original peoples,” he said. Larissa classifies the current administration as “far from a government that values sustainable growth, far from an Amazon that we want for the future”.
The influencer highlights that the lack of action by public authorities, the loosening of environmental laws, the appreciation of the ruralist caucus and those who enrich themselves with the exploitation and destruction of our biomes, has allowed a series of environmental crimes.
“If I relax public policies and whoever monitors them is also not within this stricter policy, consequently I have more environmental crimes”.
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The communicator also recalls Brazil's withdrawal from the international community during the Bolsonaro government's administration, which resulted in a lack of funding for important environmental actions.
Looking to the future, Larissa points out that the COP27 – which took place last year in Egypt – was a sign of the desired future. Such an important Conference that was attended by Amazonian youth, with representatives of the original peoples of the Amazon.
“As a young person, professional, activist and citizen of the Amazon, what we want most is that, in the next government, environmental policy is designed by us and for us too. We want to look at this environmental policy and realize that we are also there in some way. That whoever is doing something for the region is doing it properly, from a place where the truth is spoken.”
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Dream
The influencer's greatest desire, shared by those who live and defend Amazon, is that decisions regarding it are taken by representatives of the region, who know its reality and needs. “We are hopeful that this will happen now.”
According to Larissa, the way forward would be to elect a bench that speaks for Amazon and its people; that would be the starting point. “We are in serious danger. We have no time to lose".
For her, the main thing was achieved: “Ears, a possibility for dialogue”. Someone who listens to someone who can and knows how to speak for Amazon.
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@curtonews "What we want most is that, in the next government, environmental policy will be designed by us and for us too." #TikTokNews ♬ original sound – Curto News
Respect for the voice of original peoples
Larissa argues that original peoples deserve our respect and must actively participate, having the power to choose for themselves. Amazon. “They do know the beginning and end of the cycle, they are connected to what the biome is, what really works or doesn’t.”
Finally, she says that less than 10km from her home, in Belém, is Ilha das Onças. A native place, without electricity, which is inhabited by a riverside population. And that she realizes how far she has moved from this identity, even though she is only a river away. “In the future, I hope that we return to our roots, to an ancestral future.”
Cool, right? A voice of hope from those who live and breathe Amazon and can envision a better future. 💚
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* The text of this article was partially generated by artificial intelligence tools, state-of-the-art language models that assist in the preparation, review, translation and summarization of texts. Text entries were created by the Curto News and responses from AI tools were used to improve the final content.
It is important to highlight that AI tools are just tools, and the final responsibility for the published content lies with the Curto News. By using these tools responsibly and ethically, our objective is to expand communication possibilities and democratize access to quality information. 🤖
